Lore:Lorkhan

Lorkhan, the Missing God, is the Creator-Trickster-Tester deity present in every Tamrielic mythic tradition.[1] He is known as the Spirit of Nirn, the god of all mortals.[2] His most popular name is the Elven variant Lorkhan, or Doom Drum,[1] which sometimes appears as LKHAN.[3][4] Names for versions or aspects of Lorkhan include Lorkhaj (the Moon Beast) in Elsweyr, Sep in Hammerfell, Sheor in High Rock, Shor in Skyrim, and Shezarr in Cyrodiil.[1][5][6][7] He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits (et'Ada) to bring about the creation of the Mundus, upsetting the status quo—much like his (figurative) father Padomay is usually credited for introducing instability, and hence possibility for creation, into the undivided universe (or the Beginning Place).[1][6][8] After the world materialized, myths hold that Lorkhan was killed, mutilated, or at least separated from his divine center, the Heart of Lorkhan (known as Sep's "hunger" to the Redguards and Shor's Heart to the Nords), in an event sometimes called the shattering of Lorkhan.[1][6][9] This separation, which purportedly took place in Tamriel,[10] is typically called a punishment, but stories often suggest Lorkhan submitted to it voluntarily.[1][11] Whatever remained of Lorkhan afterward was exiled to wander through creation.[1][8][12] As the impetus for creating the Mundus, Lorkhan is at the center of the great ideological schism between the Elven and human perspectives on the event, which is known as the Sundering to Elves, and thus opinions of him vary dramatically in Tamriel.[1]

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The Theory of the Lunar Lorkhan states that the twin moons Masser and Secunda are Lorkhan's "Flesh-Divinity"—his literal corpse. It says that, like the Aedra, he was a planet (or plane) that participated in creation, but his planet split and his divine spark fell to Nirn "to impregnate it with the measure of its existence and a reasonable amount of selfishness". The moons thus represent the "Cloven Duality", or dichotomy of opposites, that is central to the Tamrielic dialogue on Lorkhan.[13]

Everyone eventually assigns a motivation to Lorkhan and picks a favorite story to believe, but the truth is as elusive as Lorkhan himself.[13] He is associated with trickery regardless.[6][14] In legends, he is almost always an enemy of the ancient Elves and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind.[6] Some Nordic myths state he vowed the Dwemer would "die by [his] hand" shortly before their disappearance at the climax of the War of the First Council around 1E 700. One even claims that he was briefly reunited with his Heart and mortally wounded Nerevar before being defeated again.[7]

To the Altmer, Lorkhan (who they view as more a limit than a nature) is the most unholy of all higher powers, as they believe he forever broke their connection to the spirit plane.[1][6][14][2] That their stories say Trinimac defeated Lorkhan and tore out his Heart is little consolation, and they still believe sadness is "the best response to the Sundering".[15] Their wish is to return to the spirit realm, but Lorkhan is the demon that hinders their way; to them Nirn is a prison, an illusion to escape. Others, while accepting that Nirn is a cruel place full of mental anguish, think that Lorkhan created the world as the testing ground for transcendence; to them the spirit realm was already a prison, and true escape is now finally possible.[2]

Legend holds that at Convention, Auri-El slew Lorkhan at the apex of the Adamantine Tower. When the Doom Drum's Heart proved indestructible, Auri-El attached it to an arrow and launched it across the world.[16] As it passed over the Heartlands of Cyrodiil, Lorkhan's crystallized blood fell to the ground, and the Ayleids found and used it to fashion the Chim-el Adabal.[17] The Heart fell to the ground in modern-day Morrowind, forming a volcano,[1]Red Mountain. The Dwemer eventually found and tried to exploit it, leading to the disappearance of their race from the face of Nirn.[18]

According to Orc and Chimer creation myths, Boethiah took exception to the lies being spread by the Elven gods about Lorkhan, most especially those espoused by Trinimac. He defeated Trinimac and took on his form to spread "the truth of Lorkhan's test", the Tri-Angled Truth, and persuaded the followers of Boethiah and Trinimac to abandon Altmeri society.[15][19] Boethiah and Mephala showed them the rules of Psijic Endeavor, a process championed by Saint Veloth and Vivec by which mortals may equal or surpass the gods that created them (the stated purpose of the Mundus),[1][4][20] which may be the "truth of Lorkhan's test" referred to in legend.[6][19] He is still associated with the Psijic Endeavor in Morrowind.[6]

Lorkhan has obscure relationships with other deities. He and Akatosh are the only deities who seem to be present in every tradition. Some legends say that Kynareth was the first to agree to his idea for a mortal realm. Mara is sometimes considered his wife or concubine, as is Kynareth (or Kyne). Sheogorath is said to have been created when Lorkhan's divine spark was removed from the world. While Lorkhan is the god of all mortals, Arkay is known as the Mortals' God.[6] Lorkhan is sometimes associated with Sithis,[3] "the Void", who is worshipped by members of the Dark Brotherhood. Mythic 'echoes' of Lorkhan's presence take the form of diverse avatars, incarnations, and historical patterns personified by the Shezarrines, powerful and mysterious heroes believed to have some connection to Lorkhan and each other.[1][2][5][7][8][14][21][22]

Cults devoted to Lorkhan (or his aspects) have long existed in Tamriel. One cult may have predicted the rise of Tiber Septim.[23] These cults proliferated in the late Third Era, and they are associated with spreading the understanding of the Dragon Break phenomenon (though their work is looked down upon in some scholarly circles).[24][25][26]Mankar Camoran claimed that Lorkhan is a Daedra whose Daedric plane is "Dawn's Beauty ... misnamed Tamriel by deluded mortals".[27]